Short message service (“SMS”) is the transmission of short text messages to and from a mobile phone, fax machine and/or IP address. Messages must be no longer than 160 alpha-numeric characters and contain no images or graphics. Messages are sent from the originating device to a Short Message Service Center (“SMSC”) of the wireless carrier, which must then get it to the appropriate mobile device. SMS is becoming an increasingly popular form of communications, particularly in Europe and Asia, due to its low costs, ease of use, and its relatively high speed.
However, SMS has a number of drawbacks. For one, SMS messages are not logged or stored. This is a problem for corporations that for audit reasons are required to log all forms of communications. Second, SMS messages are not encrypted, so some corporations forbid SMS to be used to send sensitive information. Finally, SMS permits messages to be sent to only one recipient at a time. If the same SMS message is desired to be sent to multiple users, the message must by manually entered on the device multiple times.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for an enhanced SMS that overcomes the above problems.